The Science of Respect

Someone stands very close to you, so much so that you feel uncomfortable.

You get a handshake which is so hard that it almost breaks your fingers!

You can’t understand whether your joke was received well or not.

We are sure many of us faced such situations in our everyday work life.

But the big question is, where is the underlying problem?

In two words – MINDFUL AWARENESS.

One of our clients shared this insightful anecdote with us.

On a busy Tuesday morning, he was waiting for the elevator to his 9th floor office. He had a lot on his plate that day and was thinking how to plan his work schedule. After a few hours, one of his colleagues who he was very friendly with, walked to his desk and asked “What’s wrong with you? Ankita was telling me you were staring at her non-stop this morning at the elevator.”

He was shocked!

Lots of conversations happened after that. But to cut a long story short, he realized he was so absorbed in his thought and staring into nowhere that unknowingly his gaze was stuck at her which made her very uncomfortable. Imagine what she must be thinking!

We look forward to working in an environment that is respectful and nurturing. But sometimes unknowingly our behaviour can hurt others because of:

Lack of knowledge of what is accepted and what is not accepted.

Inability to identify if our actions and behaviour are making someone uncomfortable.

Our solution:

Understanding our inner emotions and body language and being mindful about them can help us be fully present and aware of the impact of our actions in the workplace.

Like they say “Respect is a two-way street” – when we offer our best respect to our workplace we get back its best.

Join us for our module on the Science of Respect.

How to use social distance in the workplace: The first and the most important principle of respectful workplace behaviours is respecting boundaries – physical and otherwise. We all have invisible concentric circles around us which are scientifically called “Distance Zones”. To show respect to people, respect their distance zones and you will never make someone uncomfortable. This is especially true for multinational work environments where people from different countries work in one physical space.

How to use touch appropriately: Touch is this big taboo topic, especially in the workplace. But do you know that it is a very powerful tool to communicate respect? Of course when used correctly! In this eye opening module, learn about the touch map on our body and how to apply it in your daily business life, office parties and networking events.

It is not just human touch that creates respect. How we touch common use properties and someone else’s belongings are also powerful cues for respectful behaviour. Know more about these and create a positive impact in your actions.

The role of eye gaze: We are taught since childhood to make good eye contact. But are you aware that there are three types of eye contacts? Do you know that each type of eye contact can convey a different kind of respect? In this module learn about:

Three types of eye gaze

Eye contact and stare

Eye dance of respect

Make your handshake work for you: We have all heard about good handshakes. But do you know that there are five types of handshakes and each one of them sends different respect cues. Learn all the different types of handshakes and how to respond when someone gives you a dominating, disrespectful handshake.

Sense discomfort and take appropriate action: If we are uncomfortable, our body sends out signals without us realizing that. If a colleague says something that we don’t like our body will immediately show it on the face, through the movement of the torso and by the usage of objects around us.

Often times it happens we don’t realize when we are making people uncomfortable. Or we are not able to respectfully give a hint to them that they are making us uncomfortable. Our body language follows three rules which can help us spot discomfort and take appropriate action.

Distancing behaviours

Blocking behaviours.

Self-soothing behaviours

Learn about these nonverbal cues and apply them in your business meetings and beyond.

Show respect: Our body language can help us show respect when we are engaged in a conversation in meetings, at office parties and in our personal life. In this module we learn how to show authentic respect by giving our full attention, listening responsively and matching our wavelengths in a conversation through three techniques:

Mirroring

Fronting

Triple nod

How will the workshop impact you?

First you will notice a positive difference in your behaviour.

Next, others will start noticing the difference.

And finally, you will have a complete mind-set shift about interacting in the workplace.